Yikaria
﻿The Yikaria are a sentient race of humanoid yak-like beings, first discovered by Dagoliir's party to find out about T'laloc during the Autumn of Year 2, Shieldfall (See her Report of the Adventure). Only a few seasons after discovering the existence of the Yikaria, Dagoliir lived with them, learning the culture, as well as partaking in several of their customs, and the following is an exerpt from her Codex of the Races and Peoples of Keb, written at some point after this: Origin I belive that the Yikaria were originally normal Yaks, but that when the Cataclysm hit, and the Warps opened, they started to morph into what we know them as today. They are known to be Masters of the Warp, and so could easily have undergone such changed as would create the race that now exists, although they seem to have developed an immunity to the effect of them now - perhaps a result of some mutation in their racial make up. General Description The Yikaria are a large race of what looks like a cross between some race of Men and Yaks. I say large; I think they stand fully at the height of an Oni and a third, and my height and then half again. They have horns protruding from their foreheads, which they use as weapons, should they have lost all others. They are covered in shorter fur than what we consider "True" Yaks, but do still have it. They have fingered hands, as the other Races do, but have hooves rather than feet. They are also immensely strong, and are able to run at exceptional speeds, helped in part by the long legs they gain from such large size, but also excellent technique. They do not lack intelligence, as we tend to assume of such strong people. If you should meet one in your travels, and it happens to be aggressive, you should avoid (if you can) fighting with it, especially if it is not alone. When we first came accross them, myself, a Bard, a Ranger, a Fighter and a Barbarian fought a single one, and only managed to out-survive it by cutting off its arms, but even then it tried to skewer us with its horns. They are powerful fighters, and able to cause considerable damage just be throwing you. Diet The Yikaria are carnivorous, though do to gather various plants, mostly herbs and berries, for medicinal purposes. They mostly hunt large game, and eat fish as well. A lot of their food is either raw meat, or a stew of whatever meat and fish have been gathered and not eaten. I mentioned that they consume fish, which is something of a semi special food for them - not a delicacy, but also not something they eat every day. Well, they also hunt Whale from time to time - though they are not a seafaring race, they do possess enough skill to be able to hunt Whale, and this is a special food for them, as the hunting of them is dangerous, and only done for special occassions. The rest of the whale, though, is put to good use - they use the bones to craft tools and weapons, the organs for rituals, and trinkets, and the blubber to help waterproof their tents. They have a "head to toe" approach to eating their prey - they do not like to waste something that had to die, and so make use of as much of the animal as they are able. I saw things being eaten that I didn't know animals had, and although they are not totally unsavoury, I do not think I could consume them as they do. Beliefs They have no belief in gods, or any kind of greater power, except perhaps for the spirits of their dead. I think part of the reason that they do not believe in the gods is that they may have been created by the Cataclysm, so that there were no answered prayers, no miracles for them to form a faith from. They do, though, very much believe in the Spirits of the Dead. They believe that the Spirits inhabit Keb, but not only on the Plane we inhabit, but another, Spiritual plane. The condition of the (what we call) physical body directly correlates to the Yikar's Yikaru (a Yikar's spirit) form; if the body had (say) no arms when it was buried, the Yikaru, too, would lack arms. The burial itself has much ritual, and is greatly significant. The result of the rituals (which I shall talk about with the rest of the culture) are that the body does not decay, or at least vastly more slowly than it would otherwise. It also leads them to believe that the Spirits are the most powerful of all Races, as they do not decay at all, as mortal forms do (and must). Culture Their culture is interesting, at least inasmuch as it's so different to every other culture I've encountered. They live in Tribes, lead by a Blood Mage, something of a parent figure to the Tribes. One of the rituals of the Yikaria (in which I partook) is to offer some of their blood to the current Parent of the Tribe, allowing the Parent to control their actions, should they choose to. They call themselves "Yikaria", referring to themselves as a peoplegroup, though they individually are "Yikar". Before they come "of age", so to speak, they are "Yik" - I believe this to be unlike any concept we have. It's like they have to gain an appreciation for the World, an appreciation for the true significance of things, and the temporal nature of the things of this life. The spirits of their dead are called "Yikaru". They do not distinguish singular and plural of each form - one or more Yik, or Yikar, and so on. It's very interesting. The Yikaria use the Warps as a common means of transportation, and suffer no obvious consequences for this, although the effects of regular use by pre-Cataclysmic races are currently unknown. They bury their dead at various Warp locations, allowing for easy pilgrimages to them. They also use the Warp to find suitable places for their Tribes to live, with easy access to prey and water. Being a relatively primitive culture, they have many rituals, for all sorts of thing - a birth, coming "Of Age", and being buried are just a few. The coming Of Age and Burial rituals are particularly interesting, though they all are noteworthy, and I fear I lack the knowledge to do them justice. Firstly, the coming Of Age, so to speak. Usually, after a Yik has completed their first major hunt, or achieved something great, one of the Yikaru will appear to them, with no apparant preference for them being awake or asleep, and test them to discover if they are ready to become Yikar. If the Yikaru decides that they are ready, they are sent to the Tribe Parent, who sends them out, with one of the Groundrunners, to find various items - berries, small bones, sometimes game. If they are successful in finding these items, the Tribe Parent will use them, engraving the Yik's horns with an intricate, unique design, which usually takes several days, marking them as Yikar, or "Yikar". The Tribe Parent then accompanies the Yik to the burial site of the Yikaru that chose them, and they keep vigil from the next New Moon to the following Full Moon as thanks, recieving only enough rations to survive, completing the ascension to Yikar-hood. The Burial ritual is fascinating, and takes rather longer than simply burying the corpse. The Tribe Parent completely drains the Body of blood, and having imbued it with a kind of preservation magic, they "rehydrate" the body with the now magically-imbued blood, allowing it to stay preserved (possibly) forever. However, it is unknown if it is actually permanent. The corpse is then buried, usually away from the Tribe, but near one of the Warps. Yikar who are unable to contribute to the tribe are sort of banished. They're not quite outcast - it's not that simple, an is a reasonably complex idea. The best way to put it might be that they have their "belonging" revoked. They effectively stop being of their Tribe, or even Yikar - these are the greatest dishonours for Yikaria. Stripped of their Tribe and, in a way, their existence, they may try to redeem themselves by going on a pilgrimage all of her Tribe's dead's graves. This is, though, purely theoretical. It has never been survived. The Yikaru participate in certain aspects of the Tribe, taking part in rituals - initiating them, not rarely - but also by giving advice to the Tribe Parent, which has never not been followed. The Yikaru are considered absolute when they speak, and are also considered all-knowing, as they have become Unperishing. Hunting and Fighting practices The Yikaria are tremendously strong, as well as being so large, and so are able to use weapons that would be far too large for almost any other race to use, capable of inflicting such damage to prey or foe that they could have but a shadow of a hope of survival, regardless of their size or strength. They use large spears - I estimate them at an average of 3 meters in length, with 2 to 2 1/2 foot bone spearheads. They are also known to use battleaxes crafted from stone or locally available flint. Many of the Yikaria also carry relatively small daggers, perhaps 1 1/2 or 2 foot long. When they hunt, they are quite a spectacle, and although on those times I Hunted with them I learned a lot, and not just about their culture, but how to stalk various creatures, how to walk, and how to See the landscape, I would strongly recommend against going on a Hunt with them. They travel swiftly, and track effectively, but they are so fearsome as they stalk, and brutal in their kills. They kill quickly, yes, but there is nothing clean or "friendly" about the process. They hunt to survive, and that is their Hunt's primary function. They do not toy with their prey, but they do not fuss about clean kills. They have some kind of... calm, intense, killing aura about them, such is their focus, and never have I felt anything like it; certainly not to anything like the degree to which they exuded. Whilst I was with the Yikaria, I was honoured in being able to witness the crafting of one of their spears, and it was something of a spiritual experience, though I learned much in the process. They hunt whale, and have no compunction about using every available part of their prey, and so utilize the bones, as to use any less would dishonour the animal. They have knives made either of bone or shards of what I think is obsidian, and use these to shape the bones as they want, all the while embuing the bone with magic, allowing it to be rather stronger than it would otherwise be, making it suitable for the Yikaria's rough lifestyle. The magic is rather special to feel - though I think that to share it here would lessen it, and what it means for them - it's something of a (so to speak) sacred process for them, and I respect them too much to crassly share it. Tribal Structure The Tribes the Yikaria live in are surprisingly well structured. They are led by something of a Shaman, though a more important requirement seems to be the use of Blood magic. They are referred to as the Parent of the Tribe (the Tribe I lived with has a Mother). This Parent functions as a conduit for the Yikaru to speak to the tribe, and as decision-makers when the Yikaru do not speak. The Parent usually has 2 or 3 trusted Yikar that serve as assistants to her, gathering ingredients, and helping with rituals and ritual preparation. They have no particular name, but seem to be given greater respect by the rest of the Yikar in the Tribe. Amongst the rest of the Yikar, there are several roles, two of which I can detail with some confidence: *''Groundrunners, who serve as hunters, guides, and fighters (should the need arise). They are well respected, though without such a fearful respect as the Parent or their Helpers get.'' *''Raisers, who look after the Yik population of the Tribe, making sure they learn all the things a good, contributing Yikar should know, and teaching them about life and consequences.'' Clothing and Accessories The Yikaria wear much clothing, made from almost anything that can be used for clothing - fabric they come accross, animal hides, furs - I even saw one with what I would swear was a cloak woven from hair. Some of the Yikar, particularly the Groundrunners, will use metal they find to make a kind of armour plate they can wear to protect themselves in combat, though these are not often found, and they cannot (yet, at least) forge or re-forge the metal, just flatten it with hammer and magic. The Yikaria wear many accessories. Almost every Yik and Yikar I met had necklaces, wrist-bands, ankle-bands, piercings, and/or horn-adornments, though the Tribe Parent has the most, and the most intricate and valuable as well. Not often of anything but precious metals, and never with anything but precious and semi-precious stones embedded, the Tribe Parents accessories are by far the most resplendant. All of the Yikaria, though, are mighty to behold, and their various ornaments tell stories - of hunts, comrades, kills and more. Category:Race